DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1118#0059
EGYPTIAN ORIGIN OF SYRIAN AXE
415
a special type of axe, the evolution of which can be traced back in Egypt
to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, but which in the final stage of its
development is specially characteristic of the Syrian lands and the regions
Fig. 344. Egyptian Axe-types : a, XIItk Dynasty ; b, c, later.
influenced by them, like Cyprus. Copper axes with rounded blades go back
to the first Egyptian Dynasty : and, later on, a compromise was made with
the straight-edged form, its ends being carried back and thus drawn to
the haft, leaving a more or less circular interval between the blade
and the shaft. Axes of this type occur on Xllth Dynasty monuments
(Fig. 344, a),- and survive in a broader shape into later Dynasties
(Fig-. 344. b, c), and it is also clear that by that time it had become
naturalized on the Syrian side. A Middle Kingdom example of this class,
apparently of Syrian fabric, from the ' Tomb of the Courtiers at Abydos ',3 is
given in Fig. 345, a, b, and an almost identical specimen of the same
approximate date occurred in a hoard of implements found in Central Syria.
The round blade of the early Egyptian form was inserted in the haft
and attached by rive'ts, and the recurved ends of the later type are seen in
its primary stage in Fig. 344, c. At a somewhat later epoch, to which the
axes on the Minoan seal-stones belong, the looped attachments had become
continuous sockets, as shown in the specimens, Figs. 345, c-e.* Of these
d and e are from Cyprus, others similar are from Beyrut, and this in fact
1 Petrie, Tools and Weapons illustrated by
the Collection of University College, London,
p. 7. 'these round axes are peculiar to
Egypt.
2 E.g. Lepsius, Denhmaler, ii, Pis. CXXXII
and CLXI (Xllth Dyn.). See, too, Wilkin-
son, Ancient Egyptians, ed. Birch, 1878,
p. 215, Fig. 4S from which Fig. 344 is taken.
Montelius, L'Age de Bronze en Egypte, PI. V,
32, 33, pp. 40, 41 ; Budge,'Egyptian Bronze
Weapons, 6-Y., Arcliaeologia, liii, PI. II, 4, 5,
7, PL III, 3.
8 Petrie, British School of Archaeology in
Egypt, Abydos, &>c, 1925, PI. V, 2S and
p. 6 (presented to the Ashmolean Museum).
It was found, together with a remarkably
developed blade (20 inches long) with holes
for attachment to a stick, described by Petrie
as obviously of Middle Kingdom date. Pie
regards the axe as of Syrian fabric.
* W. Greenwell, On Some Eorms of Bronze
Weapons and Implements, Arcliaeologia, lviii
(1902), pp. 13, 14.
415
a special type of axe, the evolution of which can be traced back in Egypt
to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, but which in the final stage of its
development is specially characteristic of the Syrian lands and the regions
Fig. 344. Egyptian Axe-types : a, XIItk Dynasty ; b, c, later.
influenced by them, like Cyprus. Copper axes with rounded blades go back
to the first Egyptian Dynasty : and, later on, a compromise was made with
the straight-edged form, its ends being carried back and thus drawn to
the haft, leaving a more or less circular interval between the blade
and the shaft. Axes of this type occur on Xllth Dynasty monuments
(Fig. 344, a),- and survive in a broader shape into later Dynasties
(Fig-. 344. b, c), and it is also clear that by that time it had become
naturalized on the Syrian side. A Middle Kingdom example of this class,
apparently of Syrian fabric, from the ' Tomb of the Courtiers at Abydos ',3 is
given in Fig. 345, a, b, and an almost identical specimen of the same
approximate date occurred in a hoard of implements found in Central Syria.
The round blade of the early Egyptian form was inserted in the haft
and attached by rive'ts, and the recurved ends of the later type are seen in
its primary stage in Fig. 344, c. At a somewhat later epoch, to which the
axes on the Minoan seal-stones belong, the looped attachments had become
continuous sockets, as shown in the specimens, Figs. 345, c-e.* Of these
d and e are from Cyprus, others similar are from Beyrut, and this in fact
1 Petrie, Tools and Weapons illustrated by
the Collection of University College, London,
p. 7. 'these round axes are peculiar to
Egypt.
2 E.g. Lepsius, Denhmaler, ii, Pis. CXXXII
and CLXI (Xllth Dyn.). See, too, Wilkin-
son, Ancient Egyptians, ed. Birch, 1878,
p. 215, Fig. 4S from which Fig. 344 is taken.
Montelius, L'Age de Bronze en Egypte, PI. V,
32, 33, pp. 40, 41 ; Budge,'Egyptian Bronze
Weapons, 6-Y., Arcliaeologia, liii, PI. II, 4, 5,
7, PL III, 3.
8 Petrie, British School of Archaeology in
Egypt, Abydos, &>c, 1925, PI. V, 2S and
p. 6 (presented to the Ashmolean Museum).
It was found, together with a remarkably
developed blade (20 inches long) with holes
for attachment to a stick, described by Petrie
as obviously of Middle Kingdom date. Pie
regards the axe as of Syrian fabric.
* W. Greenwell, On Some Eorms of Bronze
Weapons and Implements, Arcliaeologia, lviii
(1902), pp. 13, 14.